


Business and Pleasure

by Haywire



Category: Veronica Mars (TV)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-04
Updated: 2016-07-04
Packaged: 2018-07-20 00:11:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,678
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7383142
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Haywire/pseuds/Haywire
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Veronica and Mac investigate a new client of hers, and reflect on how their relationship has changed since her return to Neptune.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Business and Pleasure

**Author's Note:**

  * For [hauntedd](https://archiveofourown.org/users/hauntedd/gifts).



> Set in an AU that diverges at the movie (spoiler ahead speaking of which!): Carrie Bishop never died, and her and Logan are still a thing, so no Veronica/Logan getting back together; Veronica/Piz never lasted; Veronica works with Cliff instead as a public defender on her return to Neptune.

“So we’re sure this is the place?” asked Veronica as she pulled into one of the motel’s empty parking spots. The ‘Vacancy’ sign was lit, blinking intermittently next to the completely dark ‘No’ portion which preceded it. Above both of those the logo for the Neptune Orbit Motel was emblazoned in big, bold letters.

“This is it,” Mac replied, holding up her laptop as proof. The monitor was filled with a map of the area, with a big glowing red dot situated directly on top of one of the rooms in the motel.

“I’m glad she remembered to put that thing back on.” Earlier in the week Veronica had swapped out the electronic component of their target’s FitBit for one Mac had significantly altered. It allowed them to track its location remotely, and had also installed spyware on its owner’s computer when they plugged it in to recharge.

“Mmm, and that she’s none the wiser,” added Mac as she closed her laptop. “She’s in room 217. Shall we?”

“We shall indeed.” Veronica got out of the car and reached in the back for her overnight bag. “I wonder what the odds are that we’re back here again anyway?”

“Pretty high if it happened, I’d guess,” Mac said with a nod as she retrieved her own bag.

-

Veronica’s working relationship with Mac went way back to their high school days, and continued through their collegiate years as well. When Veronica moved away to attend law school, however, they drifted apart, at least professionally speaking. They stayed in contact via social media and emails but with each of them pursuing their own careers that contact became less and less frequent over time.

Once Veronica had her degree, she had every intention of completing her articles with a big city firm and only visiting Neptune on special occasions and holidays. That plan fell through when she came back for her ten year high school reunion and inadvertently got caught up in the intrigue and drama that is Neptune.

She ended up helping her father and Cliff investigate numerous allegations of the local sheriff’s office planting evidence, which also involved her old friend, Weevil. By the end of it she was pulled back into her old ways, albeit with a new twist; she was helping in her newfound capabilities as a lawyer instead of as a private investigator.

Mac was a key resource for them during the whole ordeal. Veronica had reconnected with her in general upon her return to town for the reunion, hanging out with Mac and Wallace like old times, but working together brought them together even more. Having Mac at the helm of their computers at Mars Investigations had strengthened their already strong working relationship.

Looking back now it made perfect sense; Mac was just as dedicated in chasing down leads and discovering evidence in the digital sense as Veronica was in the real world. She hadn’t realized that before, however, not until Veronica was working side by side with the other woman on a daily basis.

One of their first outings together had been to the same motel, the Neptune Orbit, where they had tracked an off duty sheriff's officer who they’d suspected of planting evidence in a recent break and enter investigation. Mac had hacked her way into the Sheriff’s Office computer system to obtain the schedule of every officer they were investigating, and they tailed this particular one from the moment he finished his shift until he arrived at the motel.

Technically speaking they were supposed to call Keith Mars once they’d pinned one of them down to their destination, but Veronica and Mac got carried away and, aware of the transitory nature of many of these motels, decided to follow through themselves. So once the officer had checked in and went to his second floor room, they followed suit and rented a room themselves as close by as they could.

“Do you think they know what we’re doing?” Mac asked as they exited the motel office, nervously clutching the room key in her hands.

“Oh, they _think_ they know what we’re doing,” Veronica said playfully with a wag of her eyebrows. She lead them both to the car to take out their equipment - her camera and Mac’s computer - before heading to their room. “He’s in 217 and we’ve got 216, right next door, yes?”

Mac checked the key and nodded. “That’s right. Weird though, I thought rooms right next door would be two apart, like it hotels.” She eyed the room numbers as they climbed the outside stairs to the second floor.

“Motels are nothing like hotels, Mac, in many, many ways... “ started Veronica as they reached the top of the stairs, freezing as someone started to come out of 217.

Before she could do anything else, Mac grabbed her and pushed her back against the motel wall, eliciting a tiny yelp from the blonde as her lips pressed tightly against her own.

It took a few accelerated heartbeats for Veronica to catch on but once she did she tried her best to make the kiss look real, waiting until the footsteps from room 217 walked past them and down the stairway out of view.

Once they’d completely faded out of hearing they separated. Veronica reached down to pick up her backpack, which she’d dropped in surprise, before raising both her eyebrows and making eye contact with Mac once again.

“Do… do you think we fooled him?” Mac asked sheepishly, blushing brightly as her eyes bounced between her own bag, Veronica, and the key in her hands in equal measure.

“Please, _I_ was convinced, let alone him,” answered Veronica with a small chuckle. She meant it as a joke but it was kind of true, she reflected. Her mind retraced the past, wondering if she’d ever missed signs of Mac liking her in _that_ particular way. Not that she really minded, it was just a surprise to her if that were the case.

She’d dated Piz for some time during and after college, but that fizzled out after she’d been accepted to law school. Logan had remained in the past, and he was still tangled up with Carrie Bishop, who know sung under the pseudonym Bonnie Deville, which the tabloids reminded her of at every single turn whether she wanted to know or not. So it wasn’t like she was taken, per se, nor like she was opposed to the idea in principle, it was just… surprising.

Veronica shook her head, tabling those thoughts for now. “We should get set up before any more surprises happen.”

“Right. Sorry. You’re totally right,” Mac said, sliding the key into the right door after two or three attempts. She opened the door and retreated inside, leaving it open for Veronica to follow.

-

“Hah, yeah, that first time was pretty interesting,” Veronica said with a smirk. “And did you say our subject was in 217 again this time too?”

“Yyyyyyup,” Mac replied with a smirk of her own. “I wonder if 216 is available again.”

“Only one way to find out,” said Veronica, gesturing toward the motel office before leading the way to the door. “Or maybe they’ll try to put us on the first floor by the swimming pool, hmm?”

“God I wish you’d just forget about that.” Mac sighed, knowing that wasn’t ever likely to happen, knowing Veronica.

-

One other investigation they’d undertaken for a family law client of Veronica’s entailed tracking an ex-spouse to see where she went when she claimed she was attending AA meetings. Their client thought that she was just going getting drunk, or high, or both, and wanted proof for leverage in their family proceedings, so Veronica enlisted Mac’s help once again to check it out.

They didn’t need to rent a room that time, as their subject wasn’t staying at the motel herself. She arrived and immediately headed for one of the rooms on the first floor around the swimming pool. When Veronica and Mac got there a minute or two later they cautiously followed the same path, careful not to be seen along the way.

They were so careful and focused on the room into which their subject went, in fact, that neither of them were paying attention to the other rooms around them. As they walked past one of them, its door swung open and frightened Mac, who squealed in terror and jumped away from the entrance.

The only problem was that Veronica had been standing next to her, and the brunette had jumped right into her friend, knocking her to one side with enough force to send her sprawling into the motel’s pool.

Fortunately Veronica hadn’t been wearing her camera around her neck, and it survived the assault - although its casing was chipped slightly on its impact with the sidewalk surrounding the pool - but the same could not be said for one of Veronica’s newer suits. Thankfully it wasn’t completely ruined, but it did need some extensive dry cleaning and it never fully smelled right to her after that, a fact of which she reminded Mac at every opportunity.

Mac was quick to help her out of the pool, all thoughts of investigation completely gone from both of their minds.

“Oh my god Veronica, I am so sorry!” She reached down, extending a hand out to help the blonde extract herself from the water.

“It’s ok, I’m alright, seriously,” Veronica answered. For a brief moment she contemplated tugging on Mac’s hand and pulling her into the pool with her, but she had her laptop back over her shoulder and that wouldn’t be cool. Instead she worked with the other woman and got out, shaking her arms and legs to try and lighten her completely saturated clothing.

“No, you’re soaked, and your suit, oh man.” Mac ran a hand through her hair, biting her lip at the sight. “I ruined it. I’ll buy you a new one, no, _two_ new ones, I promise. Damn, I’m so, so sorry.”

“Mac, chill. I’ll live, it’s ok.” Veronica put on her best smile, more miffed at the missed opportunity than at any potential clothing damage. “At the worst you can help with the drycleaning bill. And maybe dinner sometime, for damages,” she added with a chuckle, remembering her classes in civil litigation.

“Done and done, because yeah, I owe you that much and probably more.” Mac managed a small smile for her, then turned and looked at the small group of people that’d gathered around. “Though we should probably get out of here, what with the whole element of surprise having gone…” She paused to search for words.

“Gone sploosh?” Veronica lightly jibed.

“Something like that, yeah.” Mac rolled her eyes. “C’mon, Darryl Hannah, let’s go get you some dry clothes.”

“You’re thinking _Splash_ , not _sploosh_ ,” corrected Veronica, though she knew Mac was right and followed her with soggy footsteps.

Mac was true to her word and took Veronica out for dinner that coming weekend. She didn’t skimp either, to her credit; they went to a nice sit down place that wasn’t too fancy - neither of them did fancy all that well - but wasn’t Burger King either.  
Mac drove Veronica to and from the restaurant, as she insisted that she owed her a five star date as repayment for the whole ordeal. Veronica didn’t turn her down, especially since not having to drive meant she could enjoy a few adult beverages with her meal that she’d otherwise not have had if she’d been driving.

“Well, this is me,” Veronica said with a grin as Mac played the part to the tee, walking her to her front door.

“Aren’t you going to ask me in for coffee or something?” Mac asked, leaning in and putting one hand over Veronica’s shoulder to rest on the door.

“Hah, you don’t want coffee, _ma’am_ ,” replied Veronica. “You just want a good time. Which reminds me, I did have a good time tonight, Mac.” She was serious about that, and her previous smirk slid into an earnest smile.

“Me too,” Mac said, her own facial features changing as well. “I mean about having had a good time, not about _wanting_ to have a good time. But not that _that_ would be a bad thing too, I mean, I -” she said, rambling on.

Veronica decided to lean in and kiss her on the cheek, and to do so she reached a hand up to steady the brunette’s face. When she did, her eyes fell in step with Mac’s, and her fingertips slowed, brushing first against Mac’s short hair before making contact with her soft cheek.

Mac didn’t move, and appeared to be holding her breath, returning the same gaze. Her one hand remained pressed against the door, and she moved her other to lightly rest on Veronica’s side. She didn’t pull her in closer or apply any real pressure at all, really, but both of them were aware of her hand’s presence and neither moved away from it.

Veronica was the first to move this time, leaning in and kissing Mac gently. The kiss was much briefer than their previous attempt at hiding in plain sight, though she could’ve sworn a spark of electricity passed between them at that instant. Eyes closed, she retreated by only millimeters before stopped, and then Mac was the one leaning forward, kissing her with more intensity than the previous one.

The second kiss was slow and tender, lasting several seconds longer before breaking off. Veronica leaned back and licked her lips, keeping her eyes closed for another beat or two before looking at Mac. It was entirely different than any other kiss she’d ever had; softer, sweeter, yet more powerful at the same time.

“So,” she started, the first to break the silence. “That’s a thing that happened.” Veronica’s voice was even and didn’t betray her feelings about it either way, waiting to hear Mac’s reaction.

“It did.” The brunette removed both her hands, taking a step back and brushing her hair over her right ear with one hand. “And… it was a good thing, right?”

“It wasn’t bad, no,” Veronica answered, hearing the smile in her voice as she tested her thoughts out loud. “Different, but not bad at all. Good, even.”

“That’s good then,” Mac replied. “Different is good sometimes,” she added with a nod.

“It is, yes. Though we both have an early morning tomorrow, so it’s probably time to call it a night.” Veronica reached out to take Mac’s hand and gave it a squeeze just the same. “We’ll talk more later though, yeah?”

“No, yeah, totally.” Mac grinned, squeezing back before letting go of the other woman’s hand. “Definitely. Have a good night, Veronica. Sleep tight.”

“No bedbug bites for me, promise.” She gave Mac a wave before heading back inside the house, watching Mac get in her car and leave before shutting off the porch light. There’d be a lot to think about and process before sleep came that night.

-

Veronica emerged from the office, swinging the key to 216 around her finger. “You were right, pretty high chance indeed.”

“Mmmhmm, I usually am right, which you should know by now,” Mac joked. She headed up the stairs ahead of Veronica, snatching the key from her girlfriend’s finger on the way.

“Hey, we’ve only been dating a month, give me a little time here.” Veronica said with a chuckle, following the brunette up the stairs. “I’m still a little wet behind the ears, after all.”

“Ouch. You really aren’t going to let that go, huh?” said Mac, opening the door and waving for the other woman to enter.

“Nooooooooooope.” Veronica winked and went inside, throwing her bag on one of the beds next to Mac’s bag before laying down on the other empty bed. “Though you can try to make it up to me, I guess.” They had some time to kill while waiting for the person in 217 to make a move, after all.

“Hah, challenge accepted,” Mac said, shutting the door behind them.


End file.
